The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released new data on 11 June confirming manufacturing employment is on the rise with the March quarter having more than six per cent of all jobs in Australia were in manufacturing.
The number of filled jobs in manufacturing has declined around 20,000 jobs in the past five years – from around 900,000 jobs in March 2014 to 880,000 in March 2019.
However, in the past 12 months manufacturing jobs have increased to 16,000 jobs, and 10,000 in the past quarter.
According to ABS, this change over the past five years has seen manufacturing remain the seventh highest employing industry.
The report shows food manufacturing accounts for the largest share of all filled jobs in the manufacturing industry, at around 24 per cent, with metal products at 15 per cent, and machinery and equipment at 10 per cent.
ABS provided complementary data from Jobs in Australia which showcases the manufacturing workforce is aging. While the median age remained constant at 40 years between 2011 to 2016, the industry is showing a decrease in employed persons aged 25 to 54.
Data from this publication also shows that the manufacturing industry workforce continues to be predominately male, with almost three out of four workers (72 per cent) male.
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